USA > Connecticut > The story of the Twenty-first Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. 1861-1865 > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
appearance ; many of the windows were broken, and a large number of official papers were scattered on the ground. There were many piles of furniture on the square and about the doors of the building, and in groups were crowds of people, not of the class that formerly would occupy the ground, but of all classes, the darkies and whites, the aris-
.
421
. The End of the War.
tocracy and poorer classes -- all desirous of seeing some one and knowing what was going on.
" I went into the Capitol, which had been occupied by the
State Legislature and Confederate Congress. The Senate Chamber was used as a provost marshal's office. I managed to press my way through the crowd and took a seat, on the desk of which, was the name of Alexander J. Marshall. Close by was Mr. Braman's seat, from whose desk I took a letter by 'Letcher,' date January 16, 1865, stating that the James River canal was in a miserable condition, and urging him to take some measures to place it in a better condition. Leaving this I proceeded to the Spottswood Hotel, which is a fine building. I inquired the price of board, and was in- formed that it was one dollar per meal. It used to be sixty dollars a day.
" Looking at the register, under date of April 2d (Sun- day), I saw the names of Confederate officers. I then strolled up own through a more pleasant part of the city, and by inquiring of several individuals, I found Jefferson Davis' house, which was occupied by General Weitzel. I then passed through Richmond market, which was crowded with all classes of beings, but not a mouthful of anything to eat. While in the city I visited the office of the Richmond Whig. While there I conversed with Mr. Walker, who has managed the business department of the Examiner. He with several others, connected with the press, spoke in the highest terms of our soldiers, and acknowledged that, if it had not been for them, the entire city would have been destroyed. They represented that nearly the whole business portion of the city had been burned, a statement which I think correct. They said the press had not been allowed to publish what they wished to.
" News was entirely suppressed, except what the govern- ment allowed. They thought the city would be easily gov- erned. They felt very indignant at the conduct of the Con- federate government, on leaving the city. At first the citizens
422
.
Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
feared our soldiers, but now they have learned that we are human beings. Many, no doubt, rejoice at our arrival ; others, while they do not like to be defeated in their so-called Confederacy, yet did not like the conduct of their Govern- ment, and so far are favorably impressed with our army. One great obstacle, as they say, is placing the 'nigger' on an equality with the white man. I returned to camp, tired and well satisfied with my walk."
For three weeks we remained in camp where first we halted in the enjoyment of the proud consciousness of complete victory. Only one event seemed to cast any gloom over the men. One morning there was heard the report of a gun fired every fifteen minutes. At first it was unnoticed, then it seemed ominous. Upon inquiry we found it to herald the sad news we were so unwilling to believe, that President Lincoln had been assassinated. He was loved and held in honor by all, and now that he must fall just in the hour of victory, it seemed doubly sad.
About April 20th we moved our camp to the other side of the James opposite Richmond, preparatory to our marching inland to Columbia County, whither our regiment was to pro- ceed under a separate command. On the twenty-eighth we left for our new destination under command of Lieutenant Colonel Brown, accompanied by two companies of cavalry. The distance was about fifty-four miles. Our route lay along the valley of the James, and very near to the river, with a canal lying between. With no enemy in view, freed from the restraint that attended our movements when connected with a large army, advancing at our own leisure with no danger to fear, pitching our camp when and where we pleased, enjoying the most delightful season of the year, our march was ex- ceedingly agreeable.
Most of the way, after leaving the suburbs of the city, our route lay along the same road that Sheridan had traveled six weeks before when he met our brigade at White House Landing. We were often reminded of this as we passed the
423
The End of the War.
decaying carcasses of cavalry horses which, too poor to be of any value, were slain and left unburied. On our journey we passed the residence of the Hon. Mr. Sidden, Secretary of War in the late cabinet of Mr. Davis. To the colored people we were a great curiosity. The field hands, upon seeing us, would leave their work and hasten to the road for a closer inspection. Our boys acquired the habit of addressing each one they met as Sam. " Hello, Sam!" was the common, good-natured greeting they gave to all. From one darky thus addressed there came quickly the response, with a good
REVEILLE ON A COLD WINTER MORNING.
degree of self-satisfaction, " How'd you know my name was Sam ? I believe everybody about here knows me."
Arriving at Columbia, which was the only village we saw on the way, we found a collection of less than a score of houses, together with a grist-mill, two shoe-makers' shops, a store, and what was a post-office, and an Episcopal Church. There had been a tobacco factory, but that had been burned during Sheridan's raid. Here we established our head- quarters, which were also the headquarters of the army to which we belonged. The expectation of a short stay, how- ever, discouraged any elaborate preparation of good quarters. We had a mail perhaps twice a week, and managed our own
424 . Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
affairs as we pleased. As we expected no more military duty, company and regimental drill were abandoned. While pre- serving military discipline, which now had become almost second nature to us, there was a great degree of freedom. One night, however, the Lieutenant-Colonel and staff at head- quarters suffered in the loss of five horses, together with the hostler and colored boy having them in charge. Whence or how they went was not known, only this, that the officers were out so much property.
There was not much affiliation between the soldiers and the society in the village. To the more thrifty of the New England States the whole system of Southern industry seemed fifty years behind the times. Female slaves worked in the field as well as the male. The very implements of husbandry seemed awkward and heavy. Near the camp was the home of a Virginia planter surrounded by his former slaves numbering some three hundred. "How large is your master's farm?" was the inquiry directed to one of the slaves. "Oh. I don't know. It extends up James River about four miles and up the Fluvanna River (flowing into the James) about six miles." " With whom does your master associ- ate?" "Well, he goes a good deal down to Colonel Harri- son's, twenty miles below here, and visits with Mr. - ten miles off." There was also a Union family, living six miles from camp, with which many in our regiment had some in- terest. The father and husband had been drafted into the rebel army and had died. The mother was left with six children, the eldest of whom was a daughter of eighteen. Their only means of support was in braiding hats with straw taken from the field or from the stack. When Richmond fell, the eldest daughter remarked to her grandfather, "Now my daily prayers are answered." "Then you may never expect another loaf from me," was the reply. One of the children, a boy twelve years of age, was in camp one day, and when asked how much they had to eat, replied, "About one-half bushel of corn-meal and three pounds of bacon." " What
425
The End of the War.
will you do when this is gone ?" was asked. He confessed that he did not know. Some fifteen dollars' worth of supplies were contributed by certain ones in the regiment for the as- sistance of the family. On one of the fast-days appointed by President Davis, a Southern lady asked one of her slaves, " Do you pray ?" "Yes," was the reply. "For what do you pray ?" " I pray that de will of de Lord may be done." " You must not pray for that," responded the mistress, " but that our enemies may be driven back."
Here in camp two of the companies were sent off at differ- ent points, some eight or ten miles distant, with their com- manders as provost marshals to administer the oath of alle- giance, and as far as possible to adjust any unsettled affairs that might arise and disturb the state of the country. One of these officers finds board in a family consisting of the parents, two daughters and one son, a prisoner from General Lee's army. One evening, for the entertainment of the boarder, the two daughters, accompanied by the piano, kindly sang some familiar songs. After singing " Home by the Ocean Shore," and "Gypsy Girl," they commenced " The Southern Soldier Boy." The sentiment of the piece was quite complimentary to the valor and success of their hero, but when in singing the second stanza they came to the words, "and he never will run," they quite broke down with laughter and went no further, for the presence of their own brother as a parolled prisoner, and the entire army of General Lee disbanded, made the words seem too ridiculous, even for song. One of the neighbors called one day with a letter and wishes the officer to forward it with his mail. Upon his paying the three cents postage, the officer takes from his pocket a three-cent stamp and adjusts it to the letter. " What! are these three-cent stamps come to life again ?" is the inquiry of the once-citizen of the Confederacy with apparent surprise. "O, sir, be assured that these stamps have never died," was the reply.
426
Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
The financial affairs of the conquered people were in a deplorable condition. There was plenty of Confederate scrip, one man saying that he had sixty thousand dollars of it in his possession, but it was entirely worthless. There was little or no specie in circulation and the state banks were ruined. The most perplexing questions were those that pertained to
WOOL GATHERING IN OLD VIRGINIA.
the negro. They had all learned the fact that they were free. In the possession of this fact some of them would start off with a bundle of clothes on their backs, and after wander- ing about for some time, and like Noah's dove, finding no place of rest, would return to their old place to work for five dollars per month, or less. Just how to deal with such a class of people seemed perplexing to the Provost Marshal.
427
The End of the War.
It was a most unfortunate condition for both the freed slaves and their former masters.
But at length there comes to the regiment the welcome order to return to Richmond and make out the muster-out rolls of the regiment. It was needless to say that no part of the service was more welcome than this, and joyfully the work is performed in a camp that is more like the grove of a picnic than a place of military discipline.
On June 16, 1865, we were mustered out of the United State's service, and relieved from all obligations assumed, September 5, 1862, the date of our mustering in. But the list of names on the muster out roll differed very materially from those on the roll by which we were mustered in. On the first roll there were nine hundred and sixty-six names, to which were added afterwards seventy-five recruits. Now there were but three hundred and sixty-four present to be mustered out. There were some ninety-three others absent, either on detached service or sick in hospitals, who were mustered out near this date in the locality where they hap- pened to be stationed, four hundred and fifty-seven in all. Butsthe names that did not appear among these mustered out were recorded elsewhere. Fifty-four were killed in action or died of wounds, one hundred and eight died of disease, three hundred and thirteen were discharged by reason of disability. Of the remainder some (among the officers) resigned, some discharged for various reasons, and some deserted. The recruits for the most part were transferred to the Tenth Connecticut Regiment. Of the thirty-eight commissioned officers that were mustered in September 5, 1862, only five remained to be mustered out June 16, 1865 : to wit, Lieuten- ant-Colonel James F. Brown, Major William Spittle, Captain Philo F. Talcott, of Company A; Captain Alvin M. Crane, Company D; Captain E. Perry Packer, Company G.
Thus reduced in numbers we returned home, reaching New York by boat, thence by cars to New Haven, Conn., where we remained in camp sufficiently long to meet the
428 Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
pay-master. We were paid off July 6th, which date marks the last day in the history of our regiment. Thus enriched by the experiences and discipline of nearly three years' service, and possessing the consciousness of having borne an honorable part in the greatest war of the nineteenth century, each member of the regiment returned to his home to assume again the duties of an humble citizen.
MISFITS.
.
429
The End of the War.
.
MEDALS OF HONOR.
The following members of the regiment have been granted medals of honor by the War Department, for gallant conduct in battle :
Private Wallace A. Beckwith, -Awarded February 15, 1897, action at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862; for gallantly responding to a call for volunteers to man a battery, serv- ing with great heroism until the termination of the engagement.
Lieutenant F. Clarence Buck,-Awarded April 6, 1865, . action at Chapin's Farm near Richmond, Va., September 29, 1864. Although wounded, refused to leave the field until the fight closed.
Sergeant Robert A. Gray,-Awarded July 13, 1895, action at Drewry's Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864. While retreating with his regiment, which had been repulsed, he voluntarily returned in the face of a heavy fire of the enemy's guns to a former position, and rescued a wounded officer of his company who was unable to walk.
Captain William S. Hubbell, -Awarded June 13, 1894, action at Fort Harrison, Va., September 30, 1864. Captured a large number of prisoners.
Corporal John G. Palmer,-Awarded October 30, 1896, action at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862. Volunteered to assist as gunner of a battery upon which the enemy was concen- trating its fire, and fought with the battery until the close of the engagement.
430
Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
THE UNION DEAD. -
As prepared under the direction of Adjutant-General Drum in 1884. The statistical tables accepted as official, give the following figures :
There are of record 9,853 deaths of commissioned officers and 349,913 deaths of enlisted men, making an aggregate of 359,496 deaths among the Union forces. The period included in the record is, for the regular troops, the interval between April 15, 1861, and August 1, 1865; for a portion of the volunteers it is prolonged beyond the latter date until the muster out of each organization. It will be remembered that the troubles in Mexico and other causes occasioned the retention of some volunteers in the service after the downfall of the Confederacy. Indeed, as Mr. Kirkley, the chief statistician, notes, the last white organization was disbanded November 18, 1867, and the last colored regiment, December 20, 1867, while the last officer of the volunteer general staff was not mustered out until July 1, 1869.
The death register of some of the largest prisons at the South, used for the confinement of Union soldiers, are missing. For the prisons at Americus, Atlanta, Augusta, Charleston, Lynchburg, Macon, Marietta, Mobile, Montgomery, Savannah, Shreveport, and Tyler, the registers have not been secured at all, and the im- portance of these prisons is well known. Only partial records were had from the prisons at Cahawba, Columbia, Florence, S. C., Millen, and Salisbury. There have been ways, it is true, of partly working up these deficiencies; but, on the other hand, as Quarter- master-General Meigs has shown, in many Southern prisons three or four corpses of Union prisoners were sometimes buried in the same trench, and the number of graves only imperfectly indicates the number of dead. Even in the most imperfect record, the number of Union soldiers known to have died in captivity was close upon 30,000-in exact figures, 29,498. The late investiga-
431
The End of the War.
tion, we may add, has increased by about one-sixth the record of deaths among Union prisoners.
Taking Mr. Kirkley's tables, we derive from them the following general results :
OFFICERS.
AGGREGATE.
Killed or died of wounds,
6,365
MEN. 103,673
110,038
Died of disease,
2,795
221,791
224,586
Drowned,
106
4,838
4,934
Other accidental deaths,
142
3,972
4,114
Murdered,
37
487
524
Killed after capture,
14
86
100
Committed suicide,
20
365
361
Executed,
267
267
Executed by enemy,
4
60
64
Died from sunstroke,
5
308
313
Other known causes,
62
1,972
2,034
Causes not stated, -
2S
12,093
12,121
Totals,
9,5$4
349,912
359,496
BULLET PROOF IN WOODS.
APPENDIX.
1
MONUMENT DEDICATED OCTOBER 20, 1898, AT NEW LONDON, CONN.
435 - L
Dedication of Monument.
DEDICATION OF MONUMENT.
At the reunion of the Association, held at Willimantic, May 16, 1895, a committee of five was appointed to act for the regiment, to secure a monument under the resolution of the State Legislature, providing an allowance of one thousand dollars, for the placing of a monument on any battle-field or national cemetery, to any Regimental Association.
At the annual reunion of May 15th, held at Willimantic in 1897, Chairman Smith reported that the State Legislature had so changed the first resolution as to allow the associ- ation to erect a monument in this state. A ballot was taken on the choice of location for the monument. Four towns were voted for, of which Willimantic had forty-four votes, Norwich nineteen, Groton six, and East Hampton one, and it was declared that Willimantic was the place chosen.
The committee, consisting of Comrades B. E. Smith, D. O. Lombard, Robert A. Gray, D. D. Brown and George W. Shepard, advertised for designs, specifications, and prices not to exceed one thousand dollars. Early in the following August a design by W. E. Ohaver, of New London, Conn., was accepted by the committee, and Quarter-Master General Van Kuren acting for the State of Connecticut.
Quarter-Master General Van Kuren made a contract with Mr. Ohaver for the erection of a monument in accordance with the accepted design, and the work was begun with the expectation of its being completed and dedicated at the re- union to be held May 16, 1898.
436
Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers,
The committee met at Willimantic and selected a site for the monument on the ground adjacent to the Town Hall. A subsequent meeting of the voters of the Town of Windham did not grant the site selected by the committee, but granted a site on the Town High School grounds. This site was not accepted by the committee, and as a site was offered by the city of New London on Williams Memorial Park, it was decided to postpone further work until after the reunion of 1898. At this reunion, held May 16, 1898, at Willimantic, a resolution was unanimously voted to rescind previous vote to locate the monument at Willimantic, and a resolution passed to instruct the committee to accept the site offered by the city of New London, through His Honor Cyrus G. Beck- with, Mayor of the city.
On October 20, 1898, a handsome monument, seven feet square and twenty-six feet high, was dedicated and unveiled, in the presence of a large number of the members of the regiment, their friends, and the citizens of New London. The prominent guests present were His Excellency the Governor, Lorrin A. Cooke, with members of his staff, United States Senator Joseph R. Hawley, Representative Charles A. Rus- sell, His Honor Mayor Beckwith, of New London, and the Rev. J. M. Bixler, of New London.
The presentation of the site by the Park Commissioners, and the assurance that the city of New London would maintain and care for the monument, by Mayor Beck- with, was followed by the acceptance of the gift on behalf of the Association by Chairman of the Committee B. E. Smith, and the unveiling of the monument by two sons of veterans. President Edward N. Crocker then introduced Governor Cooke, who spoke of the service of the volunteer soldiers of Connecticut.
437
Dedication of Monument.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS
BY REV. A. M. CRANE, GROTON, MASS.
FORMERLY CAPTAIN COMPANY D, TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, C. V.
Your Excellency, Mr. Mayor, Fellow Comrades and Citizens :
With humiliation we bow to that universal law of our race, which denies to her heroes the privilege of perpetuating the memory of their deeds; but with gratitude we welcome that other law, whereby a sympathetic people gather up the deeds of those who have made their history, and inscribe their names upon imperishable monuments. It is in obedience to this law that we meet here to-day. A noble commonwealth, with appreciation for her valiant sons, has enabled this asso- ciation of veterans, after the lapse of more than a third of a century, to erect this monument, that it may speak to those who shall come after us of heroic deeds and worthy achieve- ments.
And in passing, permit me to say, that it is in keeping with the past record of the state, that she now bestows this munifi- cence. Our commonwealth has ever been loyal when danger has threatened. Far back on the muster-rolls of the Pequot and King Phillip's war we find, as the historian tells us, the same names as those recorded on the muster-rolls of the late Civil War. Two hundred years ago the records of our colony bear witness to the valor of our troops as they contend with bitter cold, gnarled swamps, and strong forts defended by a stubborn enemy, while the many mourners scattered through the land bear witness to the bravery of her sons in battle. In the War of the Revolution, but one colony, that of Massachu- setts, exceeded the number of her troops sent to the Conti- nental Army, while in the War of the Rebellion, our State exceeded her quota by over five thousand men.
438
Twenty-first Regiment Connecticut Volunteers.
But not only in numbers did she excel ; in the efficiency of her troops she also stands among the first. The powers of heredity by which our great leaders, Grant and Sherman, consummated their Herculean tasks, were acquired on Con- necticut soil through a Connecticut ancestry. She furnished for the Navy in the late Civil War a Secretary, two Rear- Admirals and three Commodores-two of whom were from this city. Eight Major-Generals were from our state, and, counting those of brevet rank, eight Brigadiers. Their fidelity appears among the list of martyrs. The first to fall among the soldiers of rank are General Lyon of Eastford, Colonel Ellsworth, of Connecticut ancestry, Major Winthrop, a lineal descendant of the first Governor, and Captain Ward of the navy. Of the three Major-Generals who fell while leading an army corps, two were from Connecticut-Mansfield and Sedgwick-while of the thirty-two Brigadier-Generals count- ing brevet rank, three were from our state. Right worthily then does a state, boasting of such a history, commemorate the deeds of her sons, who gave their lives to make that history.
But for what does this monument stand ? The intelligent citizen of future generations will come and read its inscription :
1862-1865. TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEERS. ERECTED SEPTEMBER 5, ISOS, BY THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT, IN HONOR OF HER CITIZEN SOLDIERS. DREWRY'S BLUFF, COLD HARBOR, FREDERICKSBURG, SUFFOLK, FAIR OAKS, FORT HARRISON, AND PETERSBURG.
But will this inscription contain all that he will see? Far from it. For as standing here to-day and gazing upon this monument, you cannot fail to take in the surrounding scenery, the beautiful park, and the landscape yonder lost in the distant horizon, so he who comes to read this inscription will also have brought to his mind the long and trying war, with its fearful losses of the one hundred and ten thousand slain in
439
.
Dedication of Monument.
battle, and the two hundred thousand more who died from disease ; while beyond this carnage of war he will also see that sharp and decisive conflict of political strife, where great moral ideas swayed the minds of men as they never have been swayed since.
There is a legend respecting the battle of Chillon, fought in medieval times with great slaughter, that for several suc- cessive nights after the battle, the spirits of the slain hovered over the gory field and fought over again the fearful contest. Reverse the order of combat in this legend and you have an illustration of our conflict. Before the clash of arms there was the clash of political and moral forces. I shall never for- get the great political excitement that preceded the election of Abraham Lincoln. I was then attending school in an academy of our state, and with a few comrades went ten miles to listen to the Hon. Anson Burlingame, as he spoke with telling power upon the great questions of the day.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.